2004 Carolinas tornado outbreak and derecho
the 2004 Carolinas tornado outbreak and derecho, also known as the 2004 Charlotte tornado outbreak 'was a very significant tornado outbreak and related derecho which impacted the Carolinas on March 18 and 19, 2004. The outbreak was often considered the worst in the region since the 1984 outbreak, and was one of the largest outbreaks ever to impact the region. The outbreak produced tornadoes from eastern Illinois to coastal regions of Georgia, and produced several intense and long-tracked tornadoes. Meteorological history Over the last few days prior to the outbreak, a unusual heat wave struck much of the southeastern United States, including the Carolinas. Temperatures reached 85-90°F on March 15 across the region, with Charlotte setting a record high for March at 91.6°F at 12:21 pm on March 15. This heat wave exited the region on March 17, however left still above-average temperatures and instability behind. That evening, a localized severe weather event caused several strong to severe thunderstorms across the northern Piedmont region, this included a minimal F1 tornado that struck just east of Winston-Salem. However, these storms diminished long before midnight, and with warm air and a unstable atmosphere remaining, it was anticipated that a large-scale severe weather event would take place the next day. On the morning of March 18, 2004, the SPC highlighted a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms for large parts of North and South Carolina, and extending northwest into Kentucky and Indiana. This was later upgraded to a high risk of severe thunderstorms in the 16Z outlook given increased confidence and a further destabilizing atmosphere, the first storms initiated shortly before 1830 across middle and eastern Tennessee, although little would come out of these storms. By 1945, fast-moving, intense and discrete supercells were beginning to develop west of Knoxville, Tennessee. Charlotte saw a record high for March 18 around this point, at a temperature of 83°F, and the first tornado watch of the day was issued at 1950, across eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. This watch was a PDS watch, and noted that a classic tornado outbreak was likely early on, before emerging into a straight-line wind threat later in the evening. The high risk was maintained into the 20Z outlook, with the tornado risk being upgraded from 25% to 35%, above minimum high risk criteria at the time. The first tornado of the outbreak touched down at 2004, over Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This tornado would go on to become the first significant and deadly tornado of the day, being rated a high-end F3. ''This part is a work-in progress. Notable tornadoes Oak Ridge-Powell-Mascot-New Market, Tennessee The first tornado of the outbreak, the Oak Ridge-Powell-Mascot-New Market, TN tornado was a significant, and very-high end F3 tornado, causing heavy damage across various small towns in eastern Tennessee. It touched down at 2004, over Oak Ridge, a town notable for it's assistance in the Manhattan Project, which developed the first atomic bomb. Several buildings sustained F1-F2 damage here, with the first death of the outbreak also occurring at a house which had it's outer walls stripped away from the foundation and it's inner walls heavily damaged, suggesting F3 intensity. The tornado proceeded east, south of Claxton before striking Powell, just north of Knoxville, as a low-end F3 tornado. The ground oddly enough kept getting warmer during the tornado and it's associated thunderstorm, and the tornado continued to strike Arminda as a mid-range F3, 2 deaths occurred here. A few houses between Arminda and Mascot sustained near-F4 damage, before it entered Mascot shortly before 2050 as a high-end F3 tornado, destroying many buildings and killing 10. The tornado from here underwent considerable weakening, striking New Market at 2107 as a low-end F2, before lifting at 2110, after a hour and 6 minutes on the ground, 13 deaths and a 41 mile track. This was the only killer tornado of the outbreak outside of the Carolina's. '''THIS IS A WORK-IN PROGRESS!